Raveler for looping machines



Sep&. 17, 1929. s. T. ARNOLD RAVELER FOR LOOPING MACHINES Filed Aug. 23, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' OOOOcoOOO00000000000006000000ObOooOooouooO d Ra mm mm T A 6 wfl i 6 Sept. 17, 1929- s. T. AINOLD ,7 5 RAVELER FDR LOOPING MACHINES H Filed Aug. 23, 1927 Z'Sheets-Sheet 2 a D I 4 9:;

M 36 7. i Z4 Z5 INVENTOR. 39 55 35 /5 30 67 J'alfarleeTflmolf F94 19g 7 ATTORNEY talented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENTVOFFICE.

SATTERLEE T. ARNOLD, or IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE W. s. MILLS COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT i RAVELER FOR LOOIPING MACHINES Application filed August 23, 1927. Serial No. 214,793.

This invention relates to a device for unraveling knitted fabric, especially adapted for use in connection with looping machines which unite superimposed edges of knitted goods, as, for example, openings across the said edges is to be produced, to unravel a part of each article down to the impaled loops.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for unraveling knitted fabs z ric, when impaled in a looping or like machine, down to the impaled loops of said fab- 2Q ric, the device having novel and improved features and characteristics of construction designed to accomplish the unraveling operation in more satisfactory and dependable manner than it has been heretofore accom plished. I

A further object is to provide a device for unraveling knitted fabric as just stated, which will also includemeans forcutting the thread of the waste when unraveled at suit-' able location adjacent the impaledloops, and means for carrying said unraveled and cut thread away from the looping machine and depositing said thread clear of said device.

A further object, is to provide inconnection with the device, a plurality of spaced apart thread cutting members one of which is positively operating in its action and will not fail to cut the thread before allowing passage of an article to the looper, and one ofwhich is situated in advance of said posi tively acting member and is adapted to cut the thread of an article only when the fabric of said article has been unraveled down to the impaled loops upon reaching saidadvan ced cutting member.

A still further object is to provide in the device, means for cutting the thread of the waste, when unraveled down to the impaled loops, and means for carrying the unraveled and cut thread away from the looping maa parts as now to be full chine and depositing the thread clear of the device, as already stated,both of which means I V are of novel, improved and very satisfactory others which'will appear as thespecificationw proceeds, the invention comprises the construction, arrangement and combination of descr bed and as here-v inafter to be speciiical yclaimed, it being understood that the disclosure herein is merely illustrative and intended in no way In a 11miting sense, changes in details of construction 2 and arrangement of parts being permissible so long as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a part of a looping machine, and a device having the features of, i the invention, applied to said looping machine; p p Fig.2 is an enlarged plan View, partially sectloned, of the device detached from the machine, the thread cutting knives being not.

shown Fig. 3 is an elevationalview of the device i as seen from the top side of the sheetin Fig.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken as on line l4 1n Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detailside elevational view of i i the idler roll support;

Fig. 6 is adetailyview of the mountingfor the movable roll; I

rator and guide;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of athread cutting knife about to sever the thread of the unraveled waste;;and H M Fig, 9 is a detail view of the advanced cut. ting knife about to be pushed aside by advancing fabric which has not been unraveled down to the impaled loops. e 1

lVith respect to the drawingsand the numerals of reference thereon, 10represents a stationary supporting disc ordial plate of. a

, looping machine of any ordinary or preferred construction, 11 indicates the usual ring of the looping mach ne, and 12denotes a pc- I 1 i 35 Fig. 7 is a detail v ew of the thread sepa ripheral series of outwardly extending impaling pins upon said ring. Loops of fabric to be united are placed over the impaling pins 12 in a well known manner, and the ring of impaling pins is given a revolving movement (the means for revolving said ring being not disclosed) which causes the fabric to be carried to the looper.

The improved raveler of the invention,

designated generally at 13, is situated in advance of the looper. It is secured upon the stationary supporting disc or dial plate 10 of the looping machine in any suitable manner, and is adapted to unravel knitted fabric down to the impaled loops of said fabric, to

cut the thread of the waste (when unraveled down to. the impaled loops) at suitable locaand the arcuate slot 18 provides for a errcumferential adjustment of said bracket, as

will be obvious.

A driven shaft 20, suitably mounted in the bracket14,extends radially of the supporting disc or dial plate 10. The inner portion, designated 21, of said shaft 20 is adapted to be operatively connected with a source of power (not shown) capable of rotating said shaft; preferably with the means of the loop 'ing-machine for revolving the ring 11 and its impaling pins. The outer end of said shaft 20, located as disclosedjust beyond the impaling pins 12, fixedly carries a bevel gear 22 which meshes with a similar bevel gear 23 I rigid upon a shaft 24 mounted in depending arms 25 of the bracket 14 and situated at righteanglesto the shaft 20. See Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

A spindle 26 mounted in the bracket 14 and extending upwardly therefrom has fixed to it, as by a set screw 27, a roll 28 the lower portion of which is adjacent to or contiguous with the upper face of said bracket 14. The lower end of said spindle 26 fixedly carries a bevel gear 29 which meshes with a similar bevelgear 30 fixed upon the shaft 24 between the depending arms25. See Fig. 4.

A spindle 31,mounted in a block 32 pivoted upon the bracket 14-as at 33 and extending upwardly from said bracket, has fixed to it,

as by a set screw 34, a movable roll 35 the lower portion of which is also adjacentto or contiguous with the upper face of the bracket 14.v The lower end of said spindle 31 fixedly '-carries a bevel gear 36 which meshes with a similar bevel gear 37 upon said shaft 24, be-

tween said depending arms 25, and opposite the bevel gear 30. See Fig. 4.

A pocket 38 in said bracket 14 houses a coil spring 39 adapted to engage the block 32 with yielding pressure to urge the movable roll 35 against the roll 28, and a screw 40 adjustable in an internal thread of said pocket is adapted to engage the end of said coil spring opposite said block 32, whereby said coil spring can be placed under any desired tension to cause said movable roll 35 to engage said roll 28 with any preferred pressure. The arrangement as described provides for slight movement of the roll 35 away from the roll 28 to allow passage of thread of extra thickness, as will be evident. The inferengaging teeth of the bevel gears 36 and 37 are of some considerable depth to still remain in engagement even though the roll 35 moves quite a bit away from the roll 28. See Figs. 4 and 5.

The bracket 14 is preferably a casting supporting the parts as hereinbefore stated, although said bracket could consist of separate pieces of suitable material properly secured to each other. I An idler roll support 41 pivotally supported upon the bracket 14, as at 42, rotatably carries an idler roll 43 adapted to engage the fixed roll 28. As shownmore clearly in Fig. 5, the support 41 includes horizontal spaced apart extensions 44' in which a vertical shaft 45 is mounted, said shaft 45 carrying the idler roll. Numeral 46 denotes a soft outer surface of said idler roll, said surface desirably being composed of rubber.

Means is provided for yieldingly urging the idler roll 43 against the roll 28, this means being more clearly shown in Figs. 1 to 4. 47 is a small bracket secured upon the casting 14 as by a screw 48. 49 is an internally threaded tube of said-bracket in which an externally threaded tube 50 is adjustably situated, the outer end of said tube 50 being closed, except for an opening 51 centrally arranged in said outer end. 52 is a plunger extending through the housing formed by the tubes 49 and 50, the inner end of said plunger engaging the idler roll support 41, and the outer end portion of said plunger being slidably located in said opening 51. 53 is a coil spring upon said plunger and within the tube 50, one end of said coil spring engaging the outer end of ,said tube 50 about the opening 51, and the other end of said coil spring engaging an enlarged part or shoulder 54 of said plunger. Said coil spring 53 thus urges said plunger into engagement with the support 41 to cause said support to position the idler roll into yielding engagement with the roll 28. Evidently, the amount of pressure, with which said idler roll 43 engages said roll 28 can be adjusted by turning the tube 50 in the tube 49. See particularly Fig. 2

Numeral 55 designates threads of waste to Cir be unraveled from knitted fabric; for example, the stockings56disclosed in Figs. 1", 8 and 9. To accomplish the unraveling, the end portion of the thread is grasped by the operator and situated, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1, between the roll 28, on the one hand, and the idler roll 43 and the movable roll 35, on the other hand. Through the driving connections for the rolls 28 and as already described, these rolls are rotated, and thus, the thread is drawn from the knitted fabric; that is to say, the stockings are unraveled.

I have disclosed in the machine a plurality of means, orthread cutting member,s,to sever the thread before allowing passage of an article past the device of the invention to the looper of the looping machine. One of said plurality'of means or thread cutters is posi tive in its action, and one is situated in ad vance of said positive means andris adapted to cut the thread ofan article only when the fabric of said article has been unraveled down to the impaled loops upon reaching said advanced thread cutting means.

Of the positively acting thread cutting means, 57 is a knife preferably fixed inconvenient manner upon an arm 58 ltself fixed upon the suppor'tingdi sc or dial plate 10 at 59, said knife 57' being situated as-disclos ed just in advance of the idler roll 43 and ad acent the inner endsof the impaling pins 12,v

above said impaling'pins. The thread of the waste is situated between the roll 28 and the rolls 35 and 43 when the article isat a distance from the raveler and advancing toward said raveler. lVhen the article has reached the location of the knife the Waste has been, in each instance, unraveled down to the impaled loops, and the thread, held taut'by the rolls 28, 35 and 43,'is brought into contact with said knife 57 which, naturally, severe the thread. See Fig. 8. Provided the thread has been unraveled down to the imaled loops before the article reaches the nife 57, the rolls 28, 35 and 4:3 ride over said thread, in a manner not sufficiently heavy to break the thread, until the thread is brought to the knife 57, as will be understood,

Of the thread cutting means situatedin advance of the positive means for cutting the thread and adapted to cut the thread of an article only when the fabric of'said article has been unraveled down to the impaled loops upon reaching said advanced thread cutting means, 60 is the knife preferably fixed in convenient manner upon an arm 61 itself pivoted as at 61 upon'the supporting disc or dial plate 10,62 is a coil spring, secured to the arm as at 63 and to the member 10 as at,.64,'urging said arm forwardly, and 65 is a stop, upon the member 10, limiting movement of thearm toward forward direction when said "arm is positioned about radially of themeniber 10 and is situatedadjacent the innerends' of the impaling pins 1 2,abovesaid 'impaling/pins;

As will be plain from Fig. 9, should the fab I loops, said fabric willthrowthe knife 60 to" the inner side of the fabric, against the action,

of the coil spring 62, andjthe fabric will pass with thread uncut. But should the fabric be completely unraveled atthis time, the spring pressed knife 60 will cut thethreadin about the manner that ltheknifein Fig.8 is shown ready to make a cut, as will be evident. When the knife 66 is pushed aside by the fab ric, it will return to its normal position as in Fig. 1 immediately upon being released by said fabric; The purpose of the knife 60 is to sever any threads which may have become unraveled down to the impaled loops at considerable distance from the unraveling rolls, to thus take off of said rolls the Work required to be done when threads are slipping over the rolls, and also totake off of the threads the above theimpaling pins. The upper, oblique edge of the guideis serrated as at '68, the serrations providing ways eachadapted to re ceive a thread, whereby the threads maybe spread out,one above theother, along the lengths of the'rolls. The screw 67 provides means for supporting the separator and guide 66 at any desired angle of inclination calculated'to produce the best separating and guiding result of the thread, saidscrew being a pivot for said separator and guide when not turned down, and fastening the separator and guide in oblique positionw'hen turned down. See Fig. 7. I e

Mechanism represented generally at 69 is for the purposes of stripping'the threads from the rolls of the raveler, guiding said threads away from the looping machine, and carry-' ing the threads, when severed, clear of the raveler. Of this mechanism, 70 is a member supported upon the bracket 14 and shaped to provide an expanding chute 71 at the side of the rolls opposite the impaling pins and below the elevation of'said rolls, and 72 designates strippers upon said member 70 for insuring that the thread upon passing through the rolls will travel to the chute and clear of the device. The chute 71 can be of any'construction suitable to its purpose. As disclosed, it extends obliquely downward in direction away from the impaling pins. The strippers 72are at opposite sides of the inner end of the chute, one of said strippers being adapted to yieldingly engage the peripheral surface of the roll 28, and the other being adapted to yieldingly engage the peripheral surfaceof the roll '35 Each stripper extends a sulficienfldistance along the length of the roll it engages to insure that all threads placed between the rolls ably at the midwidth of its lower edge receiving a screw 7 4 entering the member 70 to pivotally attach the stripper in upstanding position upon said member. A coil spring 7 5 for each stripper, situated upon a pin or peg 7 6 upon the member 7 O, has a leg 77 fixed to said member as bya screw 7 8 and a leg 79 engaging the outer, rearward face of the stripper to urge the inner edge of said stripper against a roll 28 or 35, as the case may be.

It will be apparent from Figs. 3 and 4 that the movable roll is somewhat shorter than either the roll 28 or the idler roll 43. This is for the purpose of making easier the insertion of the threads between the rolls at the start of the unraveling operation. It will be evident that as the threads are being inserted, first between the roll 28 and the idler roll 43, andthen between said roll 28 and the movable roll 35, said idler roll and movable roll will readily move slightly away from the roll 28 against the action of the coil springs 53 and 39, respectively, and said coil springs will cause the threads to be engaged between the rolls during the unraveling operation under a pressure predetermined by the tension under which said springs 53 and 39 have been placed. The soft peripheral surface of the idler roll 43 will cause all of the threads, some of greater cross-sectional area than others, to be fed at uniform speedthrough and between the rolls.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. The combination with a looping. machine, of a device for unraveling thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device being adapted to feed said thread while unraveling in direction away from said looping machine and said device, means for severing said unraveled thread from said fabric, and mechanism for causing said unraveled and severed thread to leave said looping machine and-said device.

2. The combination with a looping machine, of a device for unraveling thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine,,means for severing said thread when unraveled, said unraveling device being adapted to feed said thread, both while unraveling and after severed,in direction away from said looping machine and said device, and mechanism for depositing said unraveled and severed thread clear of said looping machine and said device.

3. The combination as specified in claim 2, and means for guiding said thread to said unraveling device.

4. The combination with a looping machine, of rolls for unraveling thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, means for stripping said thread from said rolls, and means for 'severing said thread when unraveled, said unraveling rolls being adapted to feed said thread, both while unraveling, and after severed, to cause said thread to be deposited clear of said rolls.

5. In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprising rolls adapted to unravel thread of fab-, ric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, and an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis.

6. In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprising rolls adapted tounravel thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, and an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and having a relatively soft peripheral surface adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis.

7 In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprise ing rolls adapted to unravel thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage-with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, and means for guiding said thread to said rolls.

8. In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprising rolls adapted to unravel thread of fabric down to loops'of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll havin an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll With fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said thread being adapted to be placed between said roll with fixed axis and the movable and idler said impaled loops upon reaching said advanced threadcutting member. o

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, this 17th day of August, A. D. 1927.

SATTERLEE T ARNOLD.

rolls, and saidrolls being adapted to fric- I tionally engage said thread to feed the same, and a thread cut-off knife interposed between said impaled fabric and said rolls, said rolls being adapted to hold said thread taut while said looping machine carries the thread to said cutoff knife.

9. In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprising rolls adapted to unravel thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, and means for severing said thread when unraveled.

10. In combination with a looping machine, a device of the character described, comprising rolls adapted to unravel thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, said device including a roll having an axis fixed relatively to said device and adapted to be driven, a roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, said movable roll being adapted to be driven, an idler roll having an axis movable relatively to said roll with fixed axis and adapted to engage with yielding pressure against said roll with fixed axis, means for severing said thread when unraveled, and means for stripping said thread from said rolls.

11. The combination as specified in claim 10, and a chute for carrying said unraveled and severed thread away from said device.

12. The combination with a looping machine, of means for unraveling thread of fabric down to loops of said fabric impaled in said looping machine, and a plurality of spaced apart thread cutting members one positive in its action to out said thread before allowing passage of fabric having said thread to a looper of said looping machine, and one situated in advance of said positively acting member and adapted to cut a thread of a piece of fabric only when the fabric having said thread hasbeen unraveled down to 

